


Crying Pearls

by Shiney_Sheep



Category: Magic Kaito, 名探偵コナン | Detective Conan | Case Closed
Genre: Blood and Gore, How Do I Tag, Little Mermaid Elements, M/M, Multiple Endings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-23
Updated: 2020-08-26
Packaged: 2021-03-06 17:07:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 17,373
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26072410
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shiney_Sheep/pseuds/Shiney_Sheep
Summary: Shinichi, a merman, fell in love with Kaito, a human, after he saved him from drowning.
Relationships: Kudou Shinichi | Edogawa Conan & Kuroba Kaito | Kaitou Kid, Kudou Shinichi | Edogawa Conan/Kuroba Kaito | Kaitou Kid
Comments: 3
Kudos: 26





	1. Crying Pearls

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [beneath the moon tonight, the sea](https://archiveofourown.org/works/18929155) by [AngelicSentinel](https://archiveofourown.org/users/AngelicSentinel/pseuds/AngelicSentinel). 



Shinichi had always been a curious little fellow. Ever since he was little, he was always fascinated with any mystery. His parents, the Royal Ambassadors, would tell stories of the outside world, making Shinichi to yearn for those wonders and puzzles from the other side. In his free time, he would go to the knights around the city, helping solve and prevent crimes. When they don’t need his help, which was rarely, he would be engrossed in his family library, reading and rereading any mystery and detective novels that his parents got over the years.

At school and in his training session, he’d be known as the geeky knight. Nobody knew the outside world, unlike Shinichi. Nobody sucked up information like a sponge, unlike Shinichi. Nobody bothered to solve mysteries, unlike Shinichi. And nobody knew how to think outside the box, unlike Shinichi. But like Shinichi, others will be soon-to-be knights with him. Ran Mouri, daughter of Lord Mouri and childhood friend of Shinichi’s, decided to follow her father’s path and became a knight. Heiji Hattori, exchange student and self-proclaimed best friend, graduated with him and Ran. Sadly, Hattori moved back to the Eastern waters, and he and Ran were stationed to different places, Ran as a palace guard and Shinichi as a patrol knight.

Ever since he was stationed to patrol, Shinichi would swim up towards the water’s surface, peeping his head out of the water, and stargazed when he had the time. He remembered reading about constellations and astrology from a book his mother bought. Every now and then, those words became true. Some nights, he’ll be seeing Orion. Some other nights, he saw Gemini. The moon’s phases change every day. But sometimes, he can’t see the sky. Clouds would be blocking the sky. Some dragons and faeries flew over the water, causing some blockage. Sometimes, human’s boats covered the scenery or forced him to duck.

Tonight was one of those nights. The waves crashed into a giant boat (a ship?), causing it to rock back and forth. The excruciating winds from the current storm helped make waves more harsh and violent, making not only the people on the boat (yeah, it’s a ship) feel unstable but Shinichi too. It was so unstable that a man fell off and into the madness the water had become. Shinichi couldn’t do much for the man that fell, for he would be injured or killed with how rough the waves were moving if he were to save him. That ship continued on without stopping as the man tried to fight off the waves. Time passed by and that man was defeated, sinking deeper into the sea. Once his body sank a good meter deep, Shinichi grabbed hold of the man and swam as fast as he could towards land.

A few minutes had passed until they arrived at shore (Shinichi was very surprised about how close land was). Knowing that the man isn’t breathing, Shinichi performed cpr, remembering one of the books of human anatomy. He done chest compressions and mouth-to-mouth breathing, adjusting and readjusting until the man coughed out water. Placing an ear on his now moving chest, Shinichi could hear a pulse. Not knowing what to do, he left that man laying on the sand, feeling accomplished about not only saving a person but saving a person that is a different species from himself.

He rushed down to the family mansion and snuck in, hoping none of his neighbors wouldn't notice. The moment he quietly closed the front door, the lights flicked on with an angry Ran and a worried Professor Agasa. Feeling the intensed aura, Shinichi tried to run away but was caught by Agasa’a assistant, Haibara. 

Now, he’s kneeling down as Ran started her lecture, “Where were you?!”

Shinichi’s head was down, feeling the need to reply, “At the surface.”

Ran was so ready to smack his head when Haibara struck him with a blunt object. 

Shinichi groaned as he rubbed his hand on the targeted spot. "What was that for?"

Haibara, still armed with that blunt object, looked down at him. "You do understand that there is a storm tonight, right."

"And I was a good meter away from the surface," Shinichi puffed up. "I know how to protect myself."

"Ah Shinichi," Agasa said as he lifted Shinichi's tail fin. On that fin seemed to be a card connected with a clip. It displayed a face Shinichi recognized and the words 'Kaito Kuroba' and ‘Ale’. Shinichi inspected the card even further, showing tiny letters and a long black line stretching from one end to the other. “This must be from that man,” Shinichi muttered to himself.

Ran, who heard his mutter, looked at him with a wary face. “That man?”

A few moments later, Shinichi moved towards the front as Ran chased after him. Catching up to him, she yanked him from the tail, making Shinichi yelp. “And where do you think you’re going mister?” Ran tightened her grip on his tail as he winced at the pain.

“Ran, I’m going to give this back to him,” Shinichi said, showing the card. “Going to the witch to go on land.”

“Are you crazy?! You’re going to break the law just to give something back?!” She then groaned, placing her hand on her face. “Shinichi, it’s not going to be worth it. Whoever or whatever he is, he can always get a new one.”

“And let me keep it? Nope. Besides, my parents are the Royal Ambassadors. It wouldn’t be strange if their child wants to follow them.”

“It will be if that child has no interest in foreign affairs and politics, especially if _he_ never studied it in the first place. Besides, you can’t use him to satisfy your curiosity”

Not going to refute back, Shinichi exited through the front door and into the still city night. _You can’t use him to satisfy your curiosity_. No, he can’t really do that. Ever since the disappearance of the princess fourteen years ago, nobody is allowed to go on land besides his parents. He knew he was breaking the law, but if he kept it, it would be considered as stealing, something Shinichi is against. And it’s not like he’s going to be there long. All he wanted to do is to find that man he saved and return what wasn’t his to his owner. He wasn’t planning to stay on land. He got a city to go back to, with Ran, Professor Hagase, Haibara, and occasionally Hattori waiting there. Besides, there are better mysteries out there and that isn’t considered as one.

Eventually, he arrived at a cave on the outskirts of the city. Swimming deeper in it, there isn’t any light until floating bulbs lit up. Suspicious about it, he swam towards the direction the lights led him to. He stopped following the lights when he heard a woman’s voice echoing through the cave: “Welcome Sir Shinichi Kudou. I’ve been expecting you.” Shinichi stood there, debating if he should just leave. “There’s no need to go back when you’re already this deep,” that voice echoed. She’s right, there’s no point to go back.

He continued to follow the lights when it stopped in a room filled with grimoires, and vials that are both filled and empty. In the middle of the room was a cauldron and a woman of his own species. Her long red velvet hair flowed in the water as she swam around the cauldron. Feeling Shinichi’s gaze, she turned her body around, facing him. On her, there are nothing but pearls, as a necklace or an accessory for her red and orange striped tail. “I see that you have a wish you want granted,” that woman grinned at him.

Hesitantly, Shinichi went closer to the cauldron. “I do.”

She moved to a corner of the room where she pulled out a hand mirror. “I see you want to change to a human,” she smiled as the image warped from Shinichi looking at a mirror to an image of himself, but there aren't any scales on his face. “You’re going on land to chase after the boy you saved,” and the image shifted into his human form looking at the man he saved, but for some reason, their hands were intertwined. “And sooner or later, you’d be going back to your mansion,” and it changed into him as himself in a hug with Ran, his mother, and Agasa as Hattori ruffled his hair, and Haibara and his father looked at what was displayed.

Now, Shinichi was really hesitant about making this move due to the scene of him chasing the man. He wasn’t chasing after anything. The image on the mirror was the two of them looking at each other as their fingers intertwined. He never planned to be acquainted with the man like that. All he wanted was to drop his card off and go back, at least that was what he wanted to do, right?

“So are you going to give it to him?” The witch smiled at him, and to his surprise, she was at the cauldron, nowhere close to him.

Shinichi swam up to her and answered, “Yes.”

“Do you want to be human?”

_Briefly_ , he thought but answered, “Yes.”

“Are you willing to be exiled or executed?”

He’s already this far, so there’s no turning back. “Yes.”

“Then you sign the contract,” her smile widened as a piece of paper floated in front of him. He didn’t sign the contract immediately which surprised the witch. “Is there any negotiation that needs to be made?” She asked.

Surprised about how genuine that question sounds, he looked at her. “No, but what am I giving you exactly to fulfil this ‘wish’ on mine?”.

“Judging on how you’re planning it to be, your pearls.”

His pearls were what she wanted, which explains the pearls all over her. He doesn’t mind not to cry pearls; at least he wouldn’t need to always clean up after himself or others if they do cry. He heard that most creatures on land cry drops of salty water, which would be a plus for him. He may lose the identity as a man from the sea, but it’s worth it.

He signed the contract and the paper glowed. Feeling like something’s coming out, he opened his mouth and out was a glowing orb. Once that orb landed in the witch’s hands, it stopped glowing, revealing a pearl with a few hints of silver and blue. She inspected the pearl and commented, “Pretty, but basic.” She took one of her accessories and placed his pearl with all of the other pearls.

He stayed there, surprising the witch even more. “There’s something you’re not telling me,” he said in a cautious tone.

The witch laughed. “You’re sure a strange one, but one to earn my name.” Her laughter died down as she grinned back at him. “My name is Akako Koizumi, but you shall call me Lady Akako. And you are right, I didn’t tell you something. All of the past ones immediately left after the contract had been signed. You are the first.”

There was a moment of silence when the witch (Lady Akako you dimwit) talked again. “You know how humans ‘purify’ water?”

He nodded, remembering his mother complain about how sick she felt when drinking it .

“If you touch any water that isn’t ‘purified’, you will revert back to what humans call your people, a mer. This includes you receiving back your ability to cry pearls. If you look at the charm around your neck,” and Shinichi looked down, seeing a string connecting to a charm, “use that if you want to revert back into human. But touch any non-purified water, and seafoam you go.”

Shinichi’s eyes widened. That’s what happens a week after they die, it turns into seafoam. He remembered seeing bodies turning into seafoam and floating up to the surface. There were a couple of times while going up to the surface when he saw seafoam floating up with him. He also remembered one of the lectures saying that it is the way we go back to be part of Earth, the planet they live in as other creatures had other methods. He knew that he’ll be turning into seafoam soon eventually, so he wasn’t really afraid of it.

Shinichi was about to leave when he asked her again, “When will this contract start?”

“Whenever you touch land,” she replied, not looking at him.

And he left, leaving Lady Akako alone for now. She pulled out a bulb of light and flashed it against the intruder that was with Shinichi. “His neighbor I presume, Miss Miyano, or should I say Miss Haibara.” She stated as Haibara moved out of the shadows. “He is a really interesting one, but I think you’re here for his safety, correct?”

“If he is that interesting, then promise me that his contract will break if he falls in love with someone, mainly that man,” Haibara glared at her.

The witch shrugged, “And why would I do that?”

“He’s the interesting one right? Why not make his conclusion different, making it an even more interesting experience for you.”

Akako giggled softly. “You’re an interesting one too. Even though your wish isn’t as desireful as his, I shall keep that promise. No strings attached.” She swam up to one of her closets and pulled out a tea set. “Stay here for a while and have some tea. It’s been a while since we last chat Miss…”

“I go by Haibara Ai now.”

“Miss Haibara. I’m sure we both have our own tales.”

~~~~~~~~~~

It was morning when Shinichi woke up to the smell of food. Moving from his room to the kitchen, he spotted Ran making food. Noticing three side dishes and two main dishes displayed, he was getting worried. If there was more food than needed, then she’s feeling negative, most likely pissed. It ended up the food she was making when he arrived was the last of it. Forcing him to eat, it ended up being in silence. She was staring at him, making him feel guilty but afraid.

After minutes of awkward silence, Ran broke it, “When you’re planning to leave?”

Shinichi choked a bit of food, making a coughing fit. Somehow recovering with teary eyes, his curiosity perked up. “Wh-what?”

“When are you planning to go on land, searching for the mystery boy?”

Ran stared at him with a worried face, making him even more guilty. Then he finally said, “Later on this afternoon.”

She hummed at the response and smiled back, “Well, we’ll be waiting for you.”

Shinichi smiled back at her. What did he ever do to get her as a friend?

“Oh!” Ran exclaimed before Shinichi left the room. “I won’t tell anybody, besides Hattori. Knowing that he’ll be coming soon, he’ll demand me for you.”

Shinichi laughed. Knowing him, he would barge into his room, demanding his “quality best friend moments”. Speaking of Hattori, the prince he’s guarding will be coming soon. It’s that time of year when the prince of the eastern waters will be visiting for a while. If there’s anybody in the castle Hattori would look for, it would be Ran.

Ran ended up following Shinichi to land. “Good luck,” Ran smiled at him before he landed on the land. Once his tail fin hit the sand, pain surged through him as if he was being pulled apart . He groaned and yelled as Ran watched in horror until he became unconscious. About to give him a hand to hold, she noticed that his tail was transforming from the bottom to the top. His tail fin turned into human feet and his whole tail morphed into human legs. The shirt he wore still remained on as the magic reached up to his face. The scales from his cheeks disappeared. After his transformation, Shinichi was pale when he floated up towards the surface of the water as Ran followed. Luckily, they were directly under a loud dock when Shinichi floated on water. She pulled him towards the shore, preventing the currents to drift him away. By the time Shinichi woke up, Ran was laying next to him on the shore, smiling at him. She rubbed her silky palm on Shinichi’s now soft skin, no longer scales. As she was rubbing, she noticed the charm around his neck. “What’s with that charm Shinichi?” Ran asked.

Shinichi looked down to the charm. “If I want to be human again after meeting certain requirements, I will be able to turn into a human thanks to this charm.” He held up the charm in his hand. 

Ran’s eyes widened, but squinted at him. “I’m hearing a but.”

“But after using the charm, I won’t come back because I will be seafoam if I try to go back home,” Shinichi said, making Ran sad.

“Let’s just hope it doesn’t have to come to that,” Ran prayed, but it morphed into a smirk. “But for now, let me see you get used to your new sexy legs.”

“RA-” His voice cracked a few octaves higher as he screamed out her name, causing his neck up red and Ran to laugh.

What they never knew was that there were humans above that dock. When hearing that voice crack, some started to chuckle, some started to run away due to English (who knows, it could be a foreigner trying to say ‘run’), and some minded their own business. However, that caught attention to one person on that dock. It took time to get off from the dock (why is it so loud?) and in that time, Ran finally sended him a goodbye as Shinichi struggled to use his legs. By the time he finally got used to it, he heard a gasp. Shinichi turned his head towards the cause of that gasp and saw a familiar figure standing there. That figure had brown ruffled hair with now widen indigo eyes and a red face. He covered his eyes with his hands and managed to move where Shinichi was. He brought out the card that Ran gave him earlier and compared the picture to the man. Same hairstyle, same head shape, same iris color, same skin tone, and Shinichi can see that figure make that face on the photo. “Um...” Shinichi paused, wondering if this is a good time. “Are you, by any chance, Kaito Kuroba?” Startled, the stranger pulled down his hand. Shinichi brought out the card and handed it to the man. “This is yours right?”

That man’s face gleamed as he snatched the card out of Shinichi’s hands. “Thankyouthankyouthankyou thank you so very much,” the man cried. “I was looking for this when I found myself at the beach. Wasn’t able to work without this?”

Shinichi, puzzled, tilted his head. What do humans do to work on? If it’s a job then why a card? “What do you work as?”

That man- Kuroba now- smiled at him with relief. “I can answer you once I pay you my thanks.” Before they left under the docks, Kuroba raised a question: “Don’t you have any pants to wear?”

Shinichi never knew what pants were. He searched through his memory library if there was anything that mentioned pants, but it came to none. “What are pants?”

Kuroba looked back at him. “Did you grow up as a nudist?”

At least Shinichi heard and understood what is a ‘nudist’ but never ‘pants’, so he replied, “No.”

~~~~~~~~~~

It was a few days when Shinichi confirmed that: yes, that man was Kaito Kuraba, the man he saved, and yes, he’s overdosing himself with curiosity. At least he got to learn a few things from him, like what are ‘pants’ and what humans find acceptable. He was able to learn more about humans and other animals and subjects from Kaito (When did it change? Maybe it was the fact that Kaito refused to be called Kuroba like that for some reason) than his parents and the books they brought. He realized how similar his people and humans really are in terms of everything else besides appearance.

He also learned more about Kaito. He does magic tricks and performances as a hobby. He works as a servant for the current lord of this area due to debt. His mother works at an antique shop as an appraiser and was able to get the job due to the lord. He loves to go to bakeries to smell and taste their pastries for review, especially when it comes to something chocolate. He really loves the town and the people in it as he helps out many other people in many varieties, from the old to the young, from gypsies and the homeless to salesmen of the most prosperous businesses in the area. But the one that remained to be one of the important is his father. Kaito never knew much about his father besides the fact that he did performances and used to live together in a house on the shore. He knew that his father died fourteen years ago when that house burned down, trying to save something and he was and forever will be in love with him and his mother. After that, the current lord had been supporting his family financially until his coming of age, which was a few months ago apparently.

He also learned that as days flew by, the purpose of being human was slowly forgotten. He enjoyed the times he had with Kaito. He remembered seeing Kaito perform as a magician, wondering how each trick was done as smiles, including his, were aimed at Kaito. He remembered the roses Kaito grew whenever he used his flower trick to either Shinichi or a distressed maiden. He remembered the warmth from the nights when sleeping with him on his bed. He remembered Kaito’s and his mother’s food being so delicious that he and Ran could spar at a cooking challenge. The faces he makes that just make his stomach flop and his heart beat faster, he remembered those too. That splash of euphoria whenever Kaito returns from working at the lord’s mansion would always be one of his favorites. He loved those days. He doesn’t want to go back, at least, not as of right now.

One day, Kaito brought him to a carnival. That carnival stretched from grassier parts of land to a few meters into the sea. He tried out different games the carnival provided like whack-a-mole and target shooting. He was stressed out by experiencing roller coasters for the first time and was even more stressed out when Kaito brought him to a giant wheel. The wheel gotten bigger as they went closer to it, and by the time he arrived at the line, he tilted his head so far back that Kaito caught the fall that Shinichi was unconsciously about to do. The line shortened up as they got closer. They eventually got their own cart when it was their turn.

Shinichi was in awe as he stared at the sight. He could see the ocean, but at the same time, see the town. They gotten so high up that Shinichi could see the apartment that they were living in, and they weren’t at the top yet. He was so excited to see that apartment that he pointed it out to Kaito. Kaito smiled back, making Shinichi’s heart stop for a bit before beating faster than it was, and nodded.

“Do you remember this place Shinichi?” Kaito stared at him lovingly as he grabbed hold onto the other man’s hand.

Shinichi looked back at him and blushed from the way Kaito was staring and their hands intertwined. But he shook his head.

Kaito sighed but looked a bit down to where the beach is. “This was where we met. Underneath this carnival and very close to this ferris wheel.”

Ah, Shinichi remembered how he first greeted the man. He knew that the dock was loud at that time, but never knew that a carnival existed here until now. The red on his face deepened in shade and it moved down to his neck, embarrassed at how he appeared and what he asked afterward. 

It ended up the two cuddling when they reached the top. Hands were still intertwined as both bodies leaned into each other. Shinichi brought his unoccupied hand and cupped Kaito’s cheek, and kissed him, lip to lip. Kaito relayed back the kiss happily as he wrapped his arms around the other man. The two pulled apart to grasp some air and then continued to lean towards each other.

Eventually, that rided ended, much to their disappointment. They decided to get some food, so Shinichi sat patiently at a bench as Kaito went to the food vendors. Five minutes turned into ten, then twenty, then thirty, and that’s when Shinichi started to worry. He had been late a couple of times both as a merman and as a human, but to him, it wasn’t all that serious knowing his background. But this is Kaito that is taking a while; someone who would always been on time no matter the obstacles that was blocking it. He never took as long as half an hour to do something, especially as simple as getting food in a not so very crowded place. So, Shinichi decided to look for him.

He came across a crown hovering towards an area at an edge of the carnival. Pushing through that crowd, he saw a woman who was leaning over the ledge holding onto it and a hand. He looked off the edge to see a young boy climbing on Kaito, who was holding onto the lady. Shinichi, then, wrapped his arms around that woman’s torso and pulled back with her. That boy ended up latching onto her wrist when Kaito’s hands slipped out. That lady pulled that boy into the dock and gasped when Kaito fell into the ocean. Shinichi jumped into the water, trying to reach the now unconscious Kaito. He felt his legs reconnecting into a tail as scales developed on his body and face, making it easier to reach Kaito. When he caught him, he used his powerful tail to swim back to shore.

They ended up being underneath the docks when they arrived. He did cpr on Kaito, just like how he did on that stormy night. Suddenly, Kaito coughed out water as he did his coughing fit. Relieved, Shinichi layed near to him, trying to make Kaito’s body warm. The first thing that Kaito saw after he fell was Shinichi. He was slightly hovering on top of Kaito as his hand was on his cheek. Kaito sat up but went pale to the picture he’s seeing. There was a finny tail, a huge one in fact. It stretches all the way up to Shinichi, at least up towards his hips and waist. The scales from the tail blended in with Shinichi’s skin. When he looked at Shinichi face to face, he could see those same scales on his face more clearly than it ever was.

Then, Shinichi touched him again, but Kaito flinched. He flicked Shinichi’s hand off from him and scurried back. Parts of his panic turned into betrayal and rage. He quivered as he mumbled out, “How could you?”

Shocked, Shinichi reached out to him, but Kaito moved back.

“How Could You?!” Kaito shouted at him when Shinichi’s hand reverted back. “How could you do this to me Shinichi?! How dare you _lie in my face_ that you’re a finny creature?!” Shinichi looked at him with wide eyes. “I trusted you Shinichi! You were my everything,” Kaito’s voice got quieter, but it’s back to loud again with tears in his eyes. “I even kissed you! Was everything we went through real to you?!” Shinichi looked down, feeling like he was crushed down by boulders. “Well, it was to me! And look what happened! You lied to my face about who you are. You lied in my face about your existence. EVERYTHING ABOUT US WAS A LIE! You ended up being those finny things! Later then, you’re going to be killing me, just like what you did with my father!! I NEVER WANT TO SEE YOU AGAIN!! I HATE YOU!!!” Kaito puffed up and stomped away from the shore.

Shinichi was all alone. His heart ached as he bent down to the ground. He wept his heart and soul out. Instead of wet tears like what he expected, what came out from his eyes were pearls. He could care less now that Kaito hates him and never wanted to see him again. He was able to go back to his city, his job, and his family like how he originally planned. But, it hurts so much. Was everything really just a lie? Was it not real? Was anything real? Shinichi felt like he’s worse than trash. Does he even deserve him? Does he deserve anyone up ‘till this point? Moping, he decided to go back into the sea, when a sudden pair of hands covered his nose and mouth with a cloth that smelled sweet. His consciousness was degrading. He heard murmurs in the background as he felt himself being lifted. He was being taken away but he didn’t fight back. After all, this is what he deserved.

~~~~~~~~~~

Ran was pissed at that human. She waited everyday, waiting for Shinichi to come back. One day, she spotted Shinichi and that human at the beach, but they had their hands together. Shinichi looked so happy with him, and she hasn't seen him like that in years. She thought that it would be best if Shinichi continued being human, he would be happier that way rather than to be caged up. But a little bit of hope said that Shinichi would come back, and so she waited along the shore. Another day, that man fell into the water, forcing Ran to hide. Then, she saw Shinichi in the water, transforming into someone like her, reaching out to that man. When he grabbed him, he swam as fast as he could to the shore. Worried, she followed them and hid behind one of those pillars. She heard a bunch of yelling, in which she sadly understood. Then, she heard a cry, Shinichi’s cry. Shinichi hasn't cried in a long while too. She decided to swim up to him for comfort until she saw two men in black carrying an unconscious Shinichi.

“Aniki, are you sure Boss wants this?” The bulkier black man asked as he carried Shinichi’s torso.

“If he doesn't, then why do you think he sends us Vodka?” The black man with long silver hair answered, carrying Shinichi’s tail. “Besides, the other one was lonely, so a companion wouldn’t hurt,” he smirked as the two carried Shinichi away.

Ran was even more pissed, not at the human Shinichi liked but at herself also. That man left Shinichi broken and she wasn’t good enough of a friend to comfort him. Not only that but she just watched a group of men in black walk away with Shinichi in their hands. She knew she couldn’t do much at the moment, but if she had the courage to take him back, she would do so.

Throughout her thoughts, one stook out. What if she kidnapped Shinichi away from those men in black? She figured that they would do horrible things to him based on the aura they gave out, especially the silver haired one. If she is going to carry out the plan, she needs people to help her. Hattori’s currently in town and is aware of Shinichi being human due to constant peer pressure towards her. He might be able to help. Haibara was the one that told her about Shinichi’s ability to turn human before he left, so maybe she had more information about it. Should she talk to his parents? They’re often away either to a different part of the ocean or on land, but they would be worried about Shinichi being missing, even though his vacation is still a good two months left. Are they going to support him even when he’s in exile? She didn't know, but she went back to the city to find out.

By the time she arrived back to the city, somebody pulled her into an alley. She was so ready to knock the lights out of this person until that person turned Ran around, seeing that those arms belonged to Yukiko, Shinichi’s mother. Her fingers dug into Ran's shoulders as she looked at her in distress. She cried out, “Ran! Did you see Shinichi?!”

Ran could see bags under her eyes as her pale was more pale than usual. She must been very worried. In response, Ran nodded.

Yukiko started to cry as pearls seeped out. “Where is he?”

Instead of answering, she dragged the crying mother into the Kudou mansion. Once they went inside, Shinichi’s father appeared in the hallway. Yukiko looked at him as pearls fell from her face and smiled. Yuusaku smiled back as she swam towards him in a hug. “She found him,” she murmured into his ear. “She knows where our baby’s at.”

Not wanting to disrupt the moment between the couple, Ran moved to the living room and was surprised to see other people there. Hattori sat in a chair as Haibara and Professor Agasa seated on the couch. She went to the kitchen and back, bringing in some snacks. She ended up sitting on the couch with Haibara and Agasa. After a few minutes of waiting, the couple entered the living room and the room went silent. The two started at us as we now feel exposed. Hattori and Agasa sweat vigorously. Haibara paled tints of white. Ran avoided eye contact, but her head is down low. “We know that you’re hiding something to us,” Yuusaku claimed. “And it is about Shinichi. We haven’t seen him since we arrived, but you four know why he’s gone.”

The atmosphere was getting hard to breathe, until Ran spoke up: “Your son is at the surface. He’s been there for about a month.” All eyes went at her as she gulped down. Hattori wanted to smack her but she spoke again, “I went everyday to the shores of the town Shinichi currently resides in, waiting for him to come back. But, Shinichi fell in love with a human man, and he’s the happiest with him from what I’ve seen.” Yukiko cooed as the males’ eyes widened, but Yuusaku’s eyes went to a squint afterwards. “However, that man broke his heart today, and I wanted to comfort him.” Shinichi’s mother’s vibe went from lovingly to ready to murder somebody as Ran tried to hold off leaking pearls. “But I can’t, because while he was crying, these two human men kidnapped him away.” Ran bent down while hovering her hands over her face and wept. “Sorry… I’m sorry. I could have done something… but I can’t save him from the state he was in… If I wasn’t like this… then maybe… just maybe I…” Yukiko swam up to the crying child as Professor Agasa leaned towards her; Both were hugging her. “I’m sorry… I’m so sorry…” Ran hiccuped as she clutched onto Yukiko’s shirt. Agasa wrapped his arms around her torso as Yukiko brought her face up, looking face to face. She wiped off undeveloped pearls off of Ran’s face.

“Thank you Ran,” She smiled towards her. “Thank you for watching over Shinichi and for being his friend.”

Those three continued to cuddle up as Hattori became dsturbed. Not by the fact that his best friend fell in love with a man, or a human, or a human man. No, he was disturbed by the fact that his best friend just got kidnapped. Ran couldn’t do much to save her due to how immobile she would be if she’s on land. Knowing that Shinichi just got his heart broken, he was probably thinking that he deserved being taken away. Hattori slammed his hand against an armrest of the chair he’s sitting on, feeling useless, until a thought ran through his head. He looked at Yuusaku and said, “Don’t yall have the ability to be human though? Ain’t it part of yall jobs as ambassadors?”

Yuusaku placed his hand on his chin thinking, but replied back, “But as ambassadors, we can’t go up to the surface for personal reasons.”

Hattori flared up and swam towards him. “This is yer son we’re talking about! And yall ain’t gonna do shit?! Are ya not mindin’ the fact that he could be missin’ forever! He could end up like the princess!”

“But I never said that we aren’t going to save him,” he smiled back at the now former fuming boy. “However when we do go, only my wife, Ran and I can go. The rest of you will stay.”

“Why?! He’s my bro!” Hattori fummed as Agasa pouted.

“Hattori, your job as the prince’s personal knight is to protect and support the prince. It will be best if you stay and support him. Professor Agasa and Miyano didn’t have a clue on what’s happening with Shinichi until Ran confessed, so we couldn't bring them. Ran may go because not only she saw the man Shinichi was in a relationship with, but also saw the men who kidnapped Shinichi. Her information will help punish those people.”

Hattori gleamed then pouted at that remark.

“If you want, you could tell Ran what to do when we punish that man.”

And then he gleamed again. As long as that man received his punishment, that’s fine with him. He agreed with it and ended the meeting for the night.

The next morning, the three said their goodbyes and left the city. Shinichi’s parents followed Ran to the shore, but once they understood where she was heading, they dragged her astray from the path. They ended up being behind what was supposed to be a house. The foundation and a few walls were charred while the rest were missing. Near to it seemed to be a pile of rocks. But besides those, this beach was very pretty and clean despite how rundown the house was. The trees around added a calming vibe to this area. The large rocks at both ends of the beach felt like there was a sense of privacy. In the middle of admiring the scenery, Yukiko tapped on her shoulder and gave her a red-and-white pill. She was confused about the pill until Yukiko swallowed it. Her tail separated into human legs as the scales on her face vanished. She remembered how much in pain Shinichi was when he turned into a human, so why wasn’t she in pain? She ended up swallowing the pill and her body went numb. She couldn’t feel it, but she could see it. She witnessed her tail splitting into two as her scales on her face disappeared, feeling like she’s shedding. After transforming, she could feel again. It wasn’t painful compared to how Shinichi did it. She dragged herself onto the sand and tried to stand up. Everytime she tried, her new legs wobbled and tumbled into the sand, like what happened to Shinichi. After a few attempts, she managed to stand up (her legs were still wobbly but were able to stand). A few more attempts, she was able to walk. Before leaving the area, Yukiko brought here a piece of clothing, confusing Ran for a bit. “This is called pants,” Yukiko explained as she helped her put it on. “Humans wear it over their legs. Think of it as shirts. Nobody wants to see a woman's chest exposed in public. For humans, nobody wants to see what is in between these legs, and that is for both males and females. And don’t worry about the shirt. Humans don’t want to see a woman’s chest either.” Ran’s cheeks got hotter as she signed in relief. 

Before they left the area, Yuusaku and Yukiko stood in front of the pile of rocks. They place down a white, beautiful, familiar thing on the ground. The two talked to the stone as Ran thought where she was that thing before. She never saw it in person so she must have seen it from one of Shinichi’s books. The only book she was interested in was a book about these pretty plants. Now she remembered; those were lilies, flowers. But why place lilies in front of a pile of rocks? And why talk to that pile of rocks in the first place? She never knew and never got the chance to ask.

They walk down a path and into a town that she recognized. “This is the town Shinichi lives in,” Ran mentioned, which brought glee to Yukiko’s eyes. This was Ran’s first time actually seeing the town. To her, it felt like a modern day version of fairy tales' towns and villages. Buildings stretched up as buildings were either connected or close. The brick road they were on lead towards a water fountain, in which Ran assumes is the middle of this town. Kids played around it as a few adults were in their little groups. Clothes were hanging on strings above them as they moved. There were a few bridges connecting buildings across the road above them as well.

They went under one of the bridges and stopped in front of a building connecting to that bridge. A sign that displayed “Antiques & Jewelry'' was handing near to the door we stopped in front of. The window next to it was filled with stuff in it: smaller plastic versions of human girls, chairs, desks, a pretty purple and golden shirt-pant-thingy on a fake beheaded human, and much more. The Kudous ended up going through that door and Ran followed. The interior had more stuff in display: jewelry, plates and teacups, tables, ticking circles, etc. Despite how nice it looked, it was full of random things. Her train of thoughts were interrupted by a feminine voice that wasn’t Yukiko’s. Turning her head towards the Kudous, Yukiko was talking to another woman, a short, dark haired woman wearing a white collared shirt and a brown apron. Yuusaku smiled as the two ladies talked; she must be a family friend. Ran walked up to her and introduced herself.

The dark haired lady gasped at the introduction. “So this is the Ran that Yuki kept telling me,” she smiled. “I’m Chikage Kuroba. I’ve been childhood friends with Yuki before Yuusaku got knighted.”

That was weird. Ran heard that even back then, children from back then would avoid the surface area. And she knew that Yuukaku was a knight before he became ambassador from what her father had told. Ran’s face scrunched up.

“Ah,” Kuroba noted as if she can read Ran’s thoughts. “I was a mermaid before I became human.”

“What’s a mermaid?” Ran asked. This is her first time hearing this term.

“Ran,” Yukiko answered this time. “That is what humans call us women from the sea. We were mermaids before we got these legs. Men are called mermen.”

Now she understood. That means that Kuroba was once from the sea. At least that made sense. But how and why did she never come back?

Chikage interrupted her train of thoughts again. “I should be done with my shift. We can continue talking once we get back to my apartment.” She walked towards the door behind her and disappeared. Moments later, she appeared back with a lavender long-sleeved blouse with a beige flowy pant-like-thingy. Then, she stormed off with Yukiko as Ran and Yuusaku managed to follow.

Ran followed them to a three-storied building across a river (she just learned it while walking). She could see the outlines of each straight, red and maroon rocks as plants grew on the walls of it. When they went inside, she was in awe. There were flower-like prints on the walls and a golden crystal chandelier hovered over their heads. The floor, even though it’s fuzzy, was surprisingly soft when she came in touch with it. She followed them up the stairs to the third floor. Kuraba opened one of the doors in the hallway and let them enter first.

The three ladies conversed with each other as Yuusaku nodded and smiled. Ran ended up learning about a few more things like skirts and dresses. Chikage (Ran was threatened to call her Kuraba again) talked about a boy around her son’s age that used to live with them for the past month. Both Chikage and Yukiko cooed about her son’s love life and the possibility of Chikage getting a son-in-law. Then, they changed the subject of the reasons why they were around. That conversation continued until they heard the entrance door opened, revealing a man who looked like Shinichi if he had terrible bed hair. However, she recognized that man. It was that man from that card, the man Shinichi was in love with. Her face turned red as she clutched onto her knuckles. Before Chikage welcomed him back, Ran stood up, walked towards him, and gave him a blow to the gut.

Everyone was shocked at what Ran did. That man bent down while clutching onto his stomach, wincing in pain. Yukiko yelled, “Ran Mouri! Wh-”

“That’s what you get for breaking Shinichi’s heart!” Ran interrupted in a shout, making the three adults gasped. She lifted up her leg and kicked the man’s head to the ground, making him winced even more. “And this is what you get for making him doubt himself!” Not only Shinichi’s parents gave him that face, but as well as Chikage.

Yukiko walked up to them, crossed her arms, and glared down. “So this is the boy who broke my baby’s heart,” she barked as a menacing aura seeped out of her. 

Chikage joined in. Instead of glaring down, she squatted down with a smile on her face, making the man shiver. “So Shinichi’s Yuki’s son.” The man’s face paled, understanding what she’ll say next. “Kaito, do you have an explanation you want to tell?”

“Shinichi?” Kaito mumbled and immediately recognised. He stood up in silence as all eyes were on him. He walked towards his room when Chikage raised her voice.

“Kaito Kuroba. You will explain to us what happened,” she raised an eyebrow.

Agitated, he avoided that statement. Why is Shinichi the victim when he was lying in front of his face? He lied about himself. The Shinichi that was in front of him was never genuine. He knew that finny creatures were the one to blame. So why is he being treated as the culprit?

“Kaito Kuraba!” His mother demanded.

“Why am I the culprit?!” He yelled. “Why is that finny creature being treated as the victim when he lied in my face?! He had a facade on!”

“How can you treat Shinichi like that when you two were all lovey-dovey the past month?!”

“Mom! That was just a facade! I was in love with a fake!”

“How is he fake?!”

“He’s a _merman_ Mom! We both know damn well what will happen if we interact with _those creatures_! He could get us separated or could kill us for all we know! You don’t know the possibilities that could arise because of that finny thing!” Everybody was shocked, mainly Chikage. “We don’t want another incident like Dad’s, now do we?! From what I am aware of, it’s all that creature’s fault that he died!”

Chikage decided to stop hearing more of this nonsense and slapped Kaito. “Don’t say that. The guest heard you.”

_The guest heard me_ , Kaito thought. _It’s not like they would be personally offended…_ That thought trailed off, making Kaito’s realization. He became even more disgusted. “Why did you bring them here?! You know damn well how I feel about _it_!”

Chikage sighed as creases were formed in between her eyebrows. “Don’t talk to your guest like that young man,” She scolded while glaring.

“They’re murderers Mom! Those finny things planned Dad’s death!”

“And that’s not true Kaito!” Chikage yelled, making her guests stare at her as her son became silent. Chikage sighed again. “I don’t know who told you that, but it’s not true. He died in a fire and we both saw that. That fire was not caused by a meran or mermaid because the only mer that were there were me and the princess who died that same night.” Kaito widened his eyes, now confused with the truth. “We all were inside when the fire spread from the outside in.”

What her mother confessed processed through his mind a couple of times until he gasped. He never knew how but his mom’s statement felt right. He was told different things about the death of his father from different policemen and guards growing up, but it has always been the same conclusion: a mermaid/merman is the culprit of his father’s death. _Hold up…_ “You were a finny thing Mom?”

“I thought I told you multiple times how your father and I met.”

“Yeah, but you kept implying it as if you’re… yourself, you know?” 

A few moments had passed and nobody said a word. Going back to the topic, this means that he needs to make it up to Shinichi. He groaned as he faced down. _He must have been very hurt_ , he thought. Ran looked at Kaito as he degraded himself, seeing the guilt in his eyes. Should she make him even more guilty? She was about to say something when Kaito spoke up, “Did something happen to Shinichi?” His bangs then covered his eyes as he clutched onto his knuckles, turning it into white. 

Everyone but Chikage was shocked. How did the topic turn? They don’t know. The guests were just witnessing a fight between mother and son. Nobody knew how Kaito came up with that conclusion. Ran was the last to relax, but the first to confess: “Shinichi got kidnapped after _you_ broke his heart. We’re looking for where he is and bringing him back with us.” Ran glared at Kaito as she walked up and grabbed his wrist. “You better feel bad because you’re helping us look for him.”

~~~~~~~~~~

Shinichi woke up feeling sick. He felt tired. A minor headache rang through his head every now and then. And he’s feeling hot. Then, he started to panic. He never got sick, nor he ever heard of anyone getting sick. His people rarely got sick and only a few were recorded medically. Once he opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was a woman, a woman of his species. Her skin was extremely pale and her scales and tail were rather dull than a regular, healthy, vibrant color. Her eyes were dull as underneath it were heavy bags, making her look more frail. Her nails were long, as if she were here for days. But despite how sickly she looked, she was oddly pretty. Even though her eyes were dull, he could see a beautiful hue of green behind it, matching with the wavy, flowy blonde hair on her head. Her accessory on her tail were all pearls, same shape, same color, same size pearls all aligned up. But the thing that stood out the most was her headdress. It’s a crown with a simple violet gemstone on it, but on that gemstone is the royal crest. The only people who should have that crest are those who are in the royal family on the Western waters. _Could it be…_

“Is that you, princess?” Shinichi warily asked. He swam up towards her. He used one of his arms and wrapped it around her torso as he helped her get up.

Groggily, she blinked for a while and said, “It’s rude to not properly introduce yourself.” Her voice was sort of horased, like she hadn’t talked in a long time.

He helped her lean back against what it seemed like a glass wall of a tank. He scooted himself back a bit and bowed down. “Sir Shinichi from the Kudou family. Knight of the Royal Patrol.”

The princess smiled back at him, kinda reminding him of Ran. “Ah, the Kudou family. So you must be Ambassador Kudou’s child that I heard of. Princess Ayako of the Western waters. It’s nice to finally meet you, Knight Kudou. Though, I was told that you’re a little one.” 

The princess was trying to put herself up when Shinichi pushed her down, letting her sit. He slightly chuckled, “That’s because you were gone for fourteen years…” His voice died down as he thought to himself about the number fourteen. The princess was missing for fourteen years. SInce her disappearance, nobody was allowed to go on the surface besides the Royal Ambassadors for duty. Nobody from both Eastern and Western waters ever bothered to go up to the surface besides his parents. He remembered Chikage talking to him privately as Kaito worked. Kaito’s father died fourteen years ago in a fire. From what she heard, they used to live on the shores a few meters off from the town.

“What do you remember right before you ended up here?” Shinichi asked.

Princess Ayako was shocked about how he jumped from introductions to this. But she saw a face she never would have thought she would be seeing again. She snorted, reminiscing in nostalgia. _He is a Kudou after all_. Shinichi went from serious to worried, and she laughed at it. “Sorry about that,” she flicked her wrist a few times before answering: “I was in a room with a family of a friend. Then, the house went aflame and everybody escaped. That friend of mine saved me from the burning house when that bastard knocked him out, taking me away.” She went from nostalgic to rage to a coughing fit.

Shinichi helped her get through that coughing fit. Now it is too much of a coincidence. Her disappearance and his death coincide with each other way too well. Could that friend of hers was actually him. He died in a fire, but from what the two said, the fire started from the outside. The question is now who and why. “Is your friend’s family just so happens to be Kurobas?”

She looked at him and looked down. Even though it wasn’t fully developed, pearls peeked out from her eyes. “Lord Kuroba had a beautiful family before he died. I remember holding little Kaito when he was what humans called a newborn.”

A random whimper blew off their conversation and looked straight at the thing that made that noise. It was not a thing, it’s a who. Near to the tank the two were in was what it looked like, a dragon. They continue to whimper through the muzzle that was connected to the dragon. They continued to bang the inside of the cage as they tried to lift their wings off from this bandage-like-thing. Tears were in that dragon’s eyes when they stopped for a bit and resumed banging inside the cage. This rage flew into Shinichi’s mind because of how old this baby dragon is (a good month or two old). He observed the other cages that they were surrounded with, and it was all diverse. A few faeries were shoved in one cage. Another cage has a headless horse. A nearby tank was filled with frost while another had a salamander constantly spitting out fire. 

He heard the door opening with two people and a selkie took off their coat, revealing a naked woman. None of the people (humans?) bothered to look at her as they continued to walk through the room. “Why are we in pet duty?” One of them complained as the two covered their nose. They disappeared into the depths of what it seemed to be known as the room full of pets. About an hour later, the two were dragging what it appeared to be a decaying nue. They exited with the nue and shut the door. Minutes later, they came back with random junk in their hands. One by one, they passed out something to each cage and tank. When one of them arrived at his and the princess’ tank, they drizzled in some palettes of something, but looked at him for some reason. They smiled at him, making him want to gag. “So this is the mermaid’s mate,” they said but then glares at him. “Don’t make us breed the two of you.”

Soon, the two left. Shinichi now needs to escape this place. They’re going to make them mate. How can they when she already has a fiance and he has- scratch that, he doesn't deserve him anymore. Princess Ayako, noticing the change in the knight, somehow swam up and hugged him. He used her shoulder as a head rest and cried. He totally forgot. Kaito doesn’t like him anymore, in fact, he hates him now. He continued to sob in her arms for a few minutes until he died down. 

She continued to hug him when he signed. He looked at the princess and pushed himself away for a bit. He had a brand new thought. Kaito claimed that a merman/mermaid killed his father while his mother and the princess claimed that it was a fire. What if it was a murder and they were the one that lit up that house. The princess mentioned that it was only one person, and took her away. Could it be him? He was there to support the family since their house burned down. Chikage did tell him that he was there when the house burned down. It made sense, but why?

“What’s this?” His thoughts were interrupted by the princess remark. In her hand was his charm that was around his neck.

His eyes widened at his charm and smirked. He got an idea. He moved himself away from the princess and opened up the charm bag and inside was a bead. He signaled the princess to stay away as he plopped that bead into his mouth. After a while, pain surged through him. He could feel his tail splitting into two as his scales reverted back to him. Minutes later, the scales on his face vanished, feeling like it was plucked harshly. The princess watched him transform into a human worrily. She wanted to do something, but she knew that this is what he had to do alone. She watched as his tail turned into human legs and his scales vanished. He stopped groaning once he turned into a human. He floated up to the surface of the tank and breathed heavily. One he gained control of his body again, he managed to swim towards the edge of the tank. The princess followed him to the surface of the water. “I need to hold onto you,” Shinichi stated when she wrapped her arms around his neck. He struggled and got out of the tank, with Princess Ayako in his hands. “How are you able to drill your pearls?” He asked.

She understood and bit off one of her nails. She held up to him. He thanked her and placed her down in front of the door. He only went to the cages that were close to their tank. The first was the baby dragon. He removed the muzzle in their snout and the bandage-like-thing from their wings. He told the dragon to be quiet before he left for the cage of faeries. He picked the lock, causing them to roam free within the room. Next were the frosted tank and the salamander. He unlocked the salamander out first before unlocking the tank of a woman who’s in all pale; pale skin, white clothes, yet has dark and straight hair (snow woman he concluded). Then, he returned to the dragon and unlocked the cage. However, the dragon hopped out in glee and spat fire towards the door which Shinichi luckily grabbed the princess before.

Running through the halls was a naked Shinichi with a mermaid princess in his hands as the baby dragon flew, following them. Everyone else who became free went their separate ways. A bunch of black humans ran through the halls, looking for the escaping ones, which a few were on Shinichi’s tail. Shouts of “Stop!” and “Hault!” ran through the halls, but they continued to run. They went through halls to halls, up and down the stairs.They weren’t trying to get caught again.

In the middle of one of the halls, a person was running through one of the halls but paused. Running closer, Shinichi was able to get a better view but also paused, recognizing that person. It was Kaito, meaning that they had been captive by the current lord. Kaito was shocked with what was in front of him. It was not only a naked human Shinichi, but a mermaid in his hands and a dragon. He never recognized any of these creatures despite his ranking. They heard a shout, “Ale! Get It!” Shinichi looked behind him and back at Kaito. The naked man was about to run past him when he grabbed his arm. He tried to pull out but his hold was strong. “Go!” He yelled at the dragon. The baby hesitated. “Go! Get out of here!” The baby didn’t move. Moments later, the baby dragon went limp. Surprised by the amount of men in black following them, he tried to remove himself from Kaito, but he didn’t budged. Kaito leaned in towards him and whispered into his ear before he was shot with a tranquilizing dart. His body went limp as the mermaid fell on the floor. However, even though she was captured, she was actually happy to see Kaito again.

Later on that day, Shinichi woke up, cuffed, and inside a cage. He looked around, and recognized the room. It was the room he was in; the room where he planned to get everyone free after escaping. While looking around the room, he spotted Princess Ayako, in the tank he was in with. He spotted the baby dragon in the cage next to the tank, with a different muzzle and more layers of that bandage-like-thing. He tried to move towards the edge of the cage, but can go for about a meter radius in this about three meters by three cage. He sighed and sat down when the door opened. Coming in was a man with wrinkles and a bald spot on his head. His clothing looked as if it was a nightgown, silky and one piece. Next were two people, Kaito and a man in black, but they had a mask on them, making the face and sex unrecognizable. Following afterwards was another man in black with a whip. The four roamed around every inch of the room with the old man telling Kaito something.

After Kaito left, the three men walked towards the cage Shinichi was in and entered it. He tried to go up to them, but was restrained. The masked man pulled out more cuffs and cuffed his arms to the parallel fences, making Shinichi to do a T-pose. The man in the fedora walked behind him with the whip in hand. The old man stood in front of him, but far enough for him to not get hurt. “So you’re the one who caused the chaos merman,” the old man frowned at Shinichi. “Though, you do seem like a special one. It’s not everyday that I see an animal that turns into a human besides those changelings, or a pet so smart that they tried to get out of the room. I’m impressed,” he applauded. His hand was doing signals when Shinichi felt immediate pain on his back. Instead of tears, pearls ran down from his eyes.

The old man was fascinated by that to the point that he signaled the man in the fedora again to whip him. Pain roared as another few pearls dropped to the ground. He picked up one of Shinichi’s pearls and inspected it. It was round and white with a few hints of silver and blue. His eyes dazzled and whispered towards the masked man. That masked man started to pick up the pearls Shinichi made and ran out of the cage and out the door. The old man’s face morphed from carefree to serious. “Real talk, there’s something wrong with the mermaid. What’s wrong with it.”

Shinichi didn’t answer.

“Do it.” And a whip slapped Shinichi’s bare back. “What’s wrong with it?”

The merman groaned. “Water… Change the water…”

“We did that but it did nothing.”

“No… Not with… Purified water…”

The old man hummed to himself. Less than a second later, he commended, “Continue doing it until it goes unconscious. Start doing it once it wakes up. Do this unless it’s time for it to eat food or your shift is over.”

He could not see it but he can imagine the smile on the face of the fedora man. The whip slashed his back constantly, holding back his groans as pearls fell from his eyes. Sooner or later, a pile of pearls formed underneath his head as his back started to bleed. He continued to groan as the whip continued to slash his back open. He could feel blood dripping out from his back and some seeming down his lower half. Whip by whip, his body got worse. His legs failed him and dropped, but he’s still hanging due to the extra cuffs. His vision started to sway after a few minutes of constant whipping. His body went into a limp when his consciousness faded away. The pain slowly faded away with it.

He woke up with his back stinging. He stood up and tried to rub his eyes. Oh yeah, he couldn’t. He was still in a T-pose with his arms dangling. Then, he felt a slash on his stingy back and blood dripping off from his back and the whip, making him scream. The whip sliced up the layers of skin to the point where the flesh could be seen. Instead of screaming again, he groaned, trying to hold back his voice as he noticed that the pile of pearls were gone. Then, he started to weep out tears.

This process of being whipped and going back to sleep to just get whipped again happened so often to the point that it started to be tedious. So, he was surprised that he didn’t get whipped the moment he woke up. Not only the pile of pearls underneath him were missing, but so is the man who whipped him. Hearing a jingle, he looked up to see it was the baby dragon. Once the baby noticed Shinichi looking at them, their eyes gleamed. Their eyes were shut tight when the wings managed to rip the bandage-like-thing apart. Afew a few minutes, the bandage-like-thing snapped, freeing the dragon’s wings. Their eyes opened and shined with happiness. The baby hopped around within the cage when the door opened up.

Shinichi froze and tried to fake his unconsciousness when he realized that person wasn’t going straight towards his cage. He opened his eyes to see someone feeding the other creatures. They moved from cage to cage, tank to tank, giving out food. When they reached the baby dragon, he realised that that someone was Kaito. Kaito opened the dragon’s cage, but closed it immediately once he entered. He removed the muzzle, which caused the baby dragon to nuzzle him. He rubbed some parts of the dragon like a pet. It was a really cute sight.

“Good morning Kudou,” somebody else greeted. Shinichi turned his head for a bit to see it was Princess Ayako.

“Morning princess,” he greeted back with bowing his head.

Her face was full of concern, making him feel guilty. “Are you okay? With what was happening yesterday?”

“Yesterday?”

“They were doing all that to you since that bastard interrogated you?”

_That was all yesterday?_ He thought while looking at her. “I’m fine. This is usual for a knight. More importantly, how are you? I figured they changed the type of water they used.”

“I’m better thanks to you Kudou. Still feeling hot but the headaches weren't as terrible as usual.”

Shinichi sighed. At least that’s positive.

Kaito cleared his throat and went to the princess.

“Morning Kai~,” she purred, making Kaito shudder.

“Please don’t do that, whoever you are. I already got two people purring on my back, I don’t need any more,” Kaito complained as he wrapped himself. He gave a bowl full of pallets to her, in which she sadly accepts.

He moved on to Shinichi’s cage. He didn’t bother looking up at him. All he did was push a bowl of palettes from the outside in. Well, it’s time for Shinichi to starve due to how far away the bowl is. The princess was about to comment about it when the door slammed open, startling Kaito, Shinichi, and the princess. Coming through the door was the man in the fedoras, carrying a bag. Shinichi froze when he made eye contact with that man. He smirked as he greeted Kaito back. (Cava his name is?) He entered Shinichi’s cage and pulled out a whip from his bag.

A scream was heard from Shinichi’s cage while Kaito was packing up. He dropped his stuff and ran towards that cage. Once he arrived, he wouldn’t believe his eyes. A red line crossed over Shinichi’s torso. He was slightly bent over, but he could tell he can’t really move with the chains and the cuffs. Pearls seeped out from his eyes as chunks of thick red liquid can be seen behind him. Shinichi groaned as a whip from the behind as it kept whipping him. He hissed when his back stings. Cava paused on the whipping and spotted Kaito staring at them. He grinned and said, “You can join Ale.”

Skittish, he walked towards where Cava was. As he went, he unnoticed how bloody and wounded Shinichi’s back was. There were some parts of the back where he wanted to gag. He managed to get to where Cava was when he was given a bloody whip. “I know you can do it,” Cava grinned sadistically. Kaito gulped as he grabbed onto the whip. He slightly moved the whip, making it flicked at Shinichi, but he didn’t make any noise. Cava grunted as he swiped the whip from Kaito’s hands. “Now this is how you whip someone,” his face now showing a maniacal grin, scaring Kaito. He held the whip over his head and slashed down, making Shinichi screamed from the top of his lungs. A chunk of flesh stuck onto the whip as Shinichi’s back bled even more with heavier clots spilling out. Not soon after, Shinichi became unconscious, causing his body to dangle for a bit. “And now, we just wait for it to wake up,” Cava frowned as Kaito scurried towards the exit. “This is why a pussy like you aren’t assigned for this!” He laughed as Kaito escaped from the room.

Once he was far away and alone, he panicked. _They’re so going to kill me._ He was lucky that feeding was the only thing he had to do for today, meaning that he’s going to have some free time. But first, how could he save him? How could he save them? Everybody in that room was suffering, either from lack of nourishment, lack of freedom, or poisoning. They need to be free from that man, but how could he… _the gala tomorrow!_ Every year, the lord creates a gala around this time, showing off his achievements including his ‘exotic pets’. His family was invited every year, this year included. They could invite the Kudous and Mouri as their guests. Question: How will he break them free?

~~~~~~~~~~

In the end, he ended up being punished by three aggressive women and a man who can give out a deathly smile. He earned a few good bruises that could be healed in icy water, a bump on his head, and (maybe) a mental scar. However, it’s a good thing they decided to listen to what was supposed to be the plan for tomorrow. 

The next day, instead of pet duty, Kaito ended up helping the lower ranks clean the corridors, the foyer, and the ballroom on the ground floor as well as the front garden and patio. He barely got time to check the room where all of the ‘pets’ were at, and when he did, no creatures were around besides some sheddings and claw marks. He didn’t have the time to check every room of this 5-floored mansion with the task he had given and the preparation it usually takes for him for the gala.

By the time he arrived back at the apartment, the ladies were all dressed up. Yukiko ended up wearing the dress that was on display in the antique shop: a purple one shoulder ball gown with a ruffle skirt and golden specks along the neckline. His mom wore a dark teal silky mermaid dress that had a sleeveless long v-neck. But the one that shocked him the most was Mouri. She had a red off shoulder ball gown with some drapes and roses along the waistline, like it was a dress from a fairytale. Not only was she wearing a stunning dress, but she was the first to notice him. “Kuroba,” she gleamed at him, “Go get ready!”

For quite some time after arriving at his room, Kaito looked at himself in the body length mirror. His head turned towards the door due to a sudden knock, revealing to be his mother. She walked in. Not wanting to ruin the mood, he pulled out a white tie instead of a red tie. After putting on his jacket, he faced towards his mother with his arms open, showing the outfit. A white slim-fit jacket over a royal blue buttoned-down shirt with a royal blue handkerchief sticking out and a white tie. His mother walked closer to him and gave him a warm hug and Kaito did the same back. She placed both hands on the sides of his face, her thumbs rubbing circles on his cheeks. Her eyes became watery as she smiled up to his face and said, “Toichi, our baby boy is all grown up.”

A few hours later, everybody walked out of the apartment and made their way up towards the Lord’s estate along with other townsmen. After a long line outside the estate gates, Kaito pulled out his family invite, letting them through the gates. Seconds later, they arrived at the lobby. The moment they walked in, Ran was in awe. The walls were a beautiful golden color with the floors having a black and white checkered pattern that just sparkles. A large crystal chandelier shone brighter compared to the other chandeliers that surround it. The furniture and the floor matches the color of her dress and looked soft. She felt a little tug, realizing that it was Yukiko and followed them towards the ballroom. 

The ballroom was just like the lobby, the floor having a sparkly black and white checkered pattern with the walls plastered with gold. The chandeliers this time were a golden color as well rather than a crystal white with a different design. The room was filled with round tables that had a white silky tablecloth on top, except for the middle area of the room. At the back of the room was a giant wooden stage that is polished, assuming where the Lord is displaying his “pets”. The boys went off on their own as the ladies stayed together and chatted with other ladies. Feeling a tap on her shoulder, Yukiko turned around and squealed for a bit. Ran turned around as well and saw a stunning blond lady in a sexy long-sleeved, v-neck, black mermaid dress holding a glass of red wine in one hand. Yukiko jumped that stranger into a hug as the stranger did the same thing. “Ran,” Yukiko smiled at her, “this is an old friend of mine, Sharon. She’s also a former, but is from a different sea within the Western waters.” She turned towards that stranger with that same smile. “Sharon, this is Ran, Shinichi’s friend and daughter of another friend.”

The two greeted each other when Yukiko pulled out a question, “Why are you here anyways Sharon? You’re not big on parties.”

“That’s true,” Sharon grinned while swirling the wine glass, “This year is different compared to what Boss usually hosts.” Hearing those words, Ran glared at her, making Sharon chuckle. “It’s true that I work under him, but the moment I saw _him_ there, I knew there’s going to be a change. I need to see it with my own two eyes. Besides, who said that I support kidnapping, especially if they’re just a baby?”

Ran’s glare loosened in tension and wanted to say something but another voice interrupted.

“Vermouth?” Kaito came by wanting to talk to Ran but tensed when he noticed _her_ here. He slipped back on his poker face and continued walking towards them. “What are you doing here? I thought you’re not interested in parties.”

Sharon smiled at Kaito’s expression. “I’m not. However, after seeing _him_ , I just have to attend.” She turned around, about to leave when she looked at Kaito with a grin and mouthed, “break your leg, Kaito,” causing him to shiver.

~~~~~~~~~~

Clink.

“Wake up. It’s your time to shine. Use it when you see your queue.”

~~~~~~~~~~

The lights started to dim when spotlights gleamed towards the stage. Everyone’s attention averted towards an old man in a suit, the Lord. He started off with a few stories about the year in which everyone enjoyed listening even though Kaito knew by heart those stories were lies. Then, he brought up more stories, but this time, he brought up his “pets”, more specifically, the ones that are new this year. Many of the lower ranks, who decided to work instead of party, pull out different creatures one by one chronologically. First one on stage was that muzzled dragon whose cage was near to Shinichi’s, claiming that a giant egg was abandoned when, in reality, it was truly stolen from the nest. Next up was a wrinkled kappa, saying that he won a bet against that kappa when it was truly snatched in the middle of a game of shogi. Then up was the cage Shinichi was in. He’s bent over and wrapped in some blanket. The Lord claims that he’s a former merman who refused to go into any body of water and was taken for refuge. Kaito cringed at that story as Ran was held back from Yukiko to prevent causing a scene. After showing Shinichi, the rest of the Lord’s “pets” appeared on stage along with the three that were introduced. Chikage and the Kudous flinched when they laid their eyes on Princess Ayako in a glass tank.

The lights started to brighten as the music started to play again, causing people to dance. Their plan was in session. The “pets” stayed on display on stage as a certain amount of people can go on it to view those exotic “pets”, like in the previous years. They all were stationed to different areas of the ballroom.

Yuusaku was stationed around the back of the ballroom where the stage was located. Curious, he waited in line to view the so-called “pets”. When it was his turn, he roamed around the stage. Some of them recognized him as he showed them each a note. Eventually, he reached Shinichi's cage. Feeling a gaze, Shinichi faced that gaze. Seeing that it was his father, his eyes ducked down for a bit but looked up to the note that was in his father’s hands. The note was coded within the sumerian language. Understanding it, Shinichi flashed a part of something at his father before the two went off to their own separate ways.

Shinichi spotted Chikage dancing with other men in the middle of the room when he noticed a tiny bulge falling down from the inside of her dress as she lifted one arm in the air when the music ended. On the queue, yellow smoke fizzled and spread throughout the ballroom after holding a breath. The smoke cleared up, revealing every human besides Shinichi knocked out. When hearing the smoke bombs coming off from the different floors and hallways, he used the key that he gained and unlocked his cage, eventually unlocking every other cage. Freeing everyone, they escaped through the backstage doors and headed towards different exits as he carried the princess. Thankfully, due to Yuusaku’s message, everyone escaped quietly and safely out of the mansion, those two included. They saw some of them reuniting with their families that traveled to the mansion as Shinichi ran back, with the princess in hands, towards Kuroba's apartment under the moonlight.

Minutes after the escape, the people in the ballroom started to wake up. Every guest looked at each other and around them. People shrugged and continued their own things when a scream echoed within the ballroom. The music stopped playing and all directions came from the stage area. The Lord pulled off his top hair wig and slammed it to the ground. “Where are my pets?! Where are they?!” He panicked in a furious tone. His head was full on red with imaginable steam seeping out. “Who did this?!” He yelled and scanned around the room. Kaito, who was across the room, walked up towards him, showing a sympathetic smile. He patted on the Lord’s back when his hand was slapped away at the moment of him touching it. “I don’t need your pity Ale,” the Lord glared at him, “If anything, you could be the one planning this.” He pointed out a finger and shoved it against Kaito’s chest. “Knowing you, you want to let them go free when it was their own free will that they came to me.”

“Actually it wasn’t.” Both heads turned towards the new speaker, revealing to be Yuusaku. “We collected enough evidence to say otherwise, whether it is physical or circumstantial. There were many witnesses of your crime of kidnapping, illegal trafficking, cruelty, first degree homicide, and attempted murder. Lord Seriban, you are under arrest for these charges.” He pulled out a pair of handcuffs and attached both of the Lord’s hands with it.

Frustrated, the Lord failed to comply with what was happening. “Who are you?!”

Yuusaku smirked at him before showing his stoic expression. “I’m one who speaks for what humans call mythical creatures. According to many of their and humans’ law, you had committed much too many crimes. This includes most of your employees too.”

Yuusaku led the Lord outside, seeing a majestic phoenix in the front garden, waiting with a cage next to it. Inside that cage were many people in which the Lord recognised his connections and his underlings. Beside that cage is Yukiko, waving at them with a key in one hand and the other hand preening one of the phoenix’s wings. He smiled at her as he took the key from her hand. He led the Lord towards the cage before locking him in. “This bird will lead you to a land for judgement where many court deities from multiple races decide what your punishment will be. All of the evidence is currently in their possession,” He informs the humans within the cage before he preened with Yukiko the wing she’s working on as the phoenix did its other wing.

~~~~~~~~~~

“I’m sorry.”

Shinichi looked at Kaito as they stopped in the middle of their walk. Tomorrow, his family and Ran would be going back with the princess to the sea. It’s only been a week since the party, two days since his back was healed enough for him to move thanks to the princess’ knowledge in the medical field. The princess was feeling better to the point she was healthy enough to use her magic and turn into a human. Nobody had seen the Lord since the party and every lasting co-worker of Kaito’s went missing or are trying to move on. He hadn’t heard much from the others that were trapped with him, but he hoped they’re okay, especially the baby dragon. However, that didn’t help with how Kaito acted ever since they reunited back at the Kuroba residence. He’s been distant towards him, only checking up on him every once in a while as the girls explored the town. This was their first time actually being together since that reveal from what it felt like a while back.

“What do you mean?” Shinichi’s body faced towards Kaito, who was slightly behind. Kaito faced down, not even bothering to show his poker face. Concerned, Shinichi walked closer to him, making him tense up. They became close enough for Shinichi’s hand to grab both sides of Kaito’s face and lifted it up. Kaito’s eyes avoided the look Shinichi was giving off and stared at the ground. “Look at me,” Shinichi demanded and both eyes locked on. “I don’t know what my parents or Ran had told you but I’m perfectly fine now.”

Shinichi released Kaito’s face but his head went down again. “I’m sorry,” he whispered, but the tone of that whisper worried Shinichi. “Sorry for all of the shit I’ve put you through. I’m sorry for what I’ve told you.” He sniffled as tears started to flood down. “I- I-”

Shinichi walked even closer and wrapped his arms around the crying boy. He rubbed Kaito’s back as he shushed him down. Kaito’s head fell onto Shinichi’s shoulder and continued to sob. “I’m alright now,” Shinichi said as he moved the hand that was rubbing Kaito’s back to massaging Kaito’s head. “You don’t need to apologise. It’s true that I was hurt by your words, but I can understand where you’re coming from. As for what happened afterwards, that wasn’t your fault.”

“But-”

“No buts. Now follow me,” Shinichi smiled as he walked a certain distance away. Noticing Kaito not following, he turned around waiting.

Kaito’s vision became more clear and looked up at Shinichi, awing at how beautiful Shinichi was with the sun setting behind him. _What did I do to deserve him?_

He caught up to Shinichi, following to wherever Shinichi was leading him. For some reason, this way felt way too familiar, like he’d been on this road before. He finally recognized the location by the time they arrived. A charred house stood up proud as the leaves and the branches from the surrounding forest danced around it. Behind that house was a soft beach that touched the twilight sky. The sound of the waves crashing into the nearby rocks and the forest rustling brought nostalgia to Kaito. It was his childhood home afterall. He followed Shinichi to a noticeable pile of rocks that was where the grass touched the sand, his father’s grave. Shinichi sat down in front of the grave.

“Do you know the truth?” Shinichi questioned without facing Kaito, “about your father that is.”

Kaito sat next to him, staring down at the grave. “I’m not too sure, but I think I understood.”

He hummed before moving onto a different question. “Do you know that your family has ties with that mermaid that was captive with me?”

Kaito’s eyes widened and then groaned in a facepalm. “No wonder why she kept calling me Kai.” He looked at Shinichi and asked, “Is she a god parent or something?”

“I don’t know, but from what I heard, she’s really close to your parents. You became another reason for her to visit land once she heard you’ll be in the world soon.”

“Then she visited often until she was taken away by the Lord once the house caught on fire. I can piece things together Shinichi. It was around the time when the townspeople kept telling me that a merman or mermaid murdered Dad.”

“Did you know that my parents were investigating his death too?”

“Too?”

“The king assigned my father to investigate his missing daughter despite being busy as an ambassador. He investigated your father’s death once he learned about this place being in flames. They must have been close for him to do something that’s not related to work.”

Kaito pondered for a while, creating a silent moment, before asking, “Is this related why we’re here?”

Shinichi glanced up at Kaito and back to the grave. “I heard he’s a very good man based on the stories my parents told. I knew I wanted to meet him and his family, but to think that it would lead to something crazy before realizing that it was you that I’ve always wanted to meet.”

“Did your image of me change?”

“Hmm… It did.”

Kaito’s poker face slipped on with an unhappy feeling in his stomach. He turned and faced Shinichi to realize that Shinichi was smiling brightly despite how dark it was even with the stars and moon out.

“I have more of a reason to be with you,” he claimed as he leaned closer to Kaito, blushing. “It just feels right, you know?”

Kaito leaned back in response.

Before they went back to the apartment, Kaito played along the shore as Shinichi sat close to the fire they built later on, staring at the picture of Kaito playing with the sea.


	2. A Dream is A Wish Your Heart Makes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> aka the "bad" ending

The next day, everyone, except for Chikage, arrived at the charred house. Shinichi’s parents were the first that said their goodbyes to Kaito before entering the water. He didn’t see their transformation because of the water, but he did see two tails splashed the water in a certain distance. Next was Ran. She did the same thing that Shinichi’s parents did except for the tail splashing jig. The princess decided to go next, but instead of going into the water immediately, she took deep breaths in and out before turning to Kaito. She gave him a hug and a peck on the cheek (like the jubilant aunt she was) before using her magic to transform and jump into the water. Lastly, it was Shinichi’s turn. Compared to everyone else, Shinichi was hesitant about going into the water.

“Aren’t you going into the water?” Kaito asked as he walked from the grass to the sand.

“I…” Shinichi hesitated. “I want to stay here longer… If that’s okay with you.” He fiddled with his thumbs and looked down.

Despite how cute he’s acting, Kaito knew that he needed to go back, so he pushed him more towards the sea. “You have friends and family back there who would be concerned about you being missing for a good month and a half. It’ll be best if you don’t make them worry more,” he said as he patted Shinichi’s head.

He looked down and pouted before pulling Kaito into a kiss. Instead of ending it off, Shinichi licked Kaito’s lips, wanting to go further, and he granted it. Tongue danced together as both dug deeper into each other’s mouths. Both fought for dominance until they released themselves away, gasping for air. Kaito chuckled, “if you want me that badly, then you’ll have to come back soon.”

Shinichi laughed back, but it felt fake. He walked towards the waves, but looked back at Kaito. “I can’t promise that I’ll be back, but I’ll try,” he waved before entering.

To Kaito, it was satisfying to watch. Even though Shinichi did the same thing with everyone else, he at least showed him the process of turning into a finny creature. The moment he dove in, seafoam surrounded Shinichi’s body until it was gone. It was like watching styrofoam getting dissolved by acetone. The seafoam that was left floated up upon the shore. At least Shinichi can be with his family.

~~~~~~~~~~

While swimming back, Ran felt very wrong. She looked behind, but there was no Shinichi. Yukiko noticed Ran stopping, causing everyone to swim back to where Ran was. “Is there something wrong Ran?” Yukiko looked at her with a confused face.

“No,” Ran replied back, “but where’s Shinichi? His goodbye with Kaito should have been done minutes ago.”

“Oh, I’m sure he’s fine. This is Shinichi we’re talking about,” Yukiko giggled.

But Ran couldn’t help with her gut feeling screaming something wrong. “I’m going back,” she said and stormed away.

Yukiko was about to chase after Ran when Yuusaku prevented her from doing so. He told her to go with the princess as he fetched the two teenagers, but he knew what’s going on based on Ran’s facial expression. Something was up, and Shinichi was involved some way or another. 

Ran managed to get back to the shore when she noticed Kaito leaving. She yelled out his name, causing him to turn around and walked up towards her. “Where’s Shinichi?”

Yuusaku washed up against the shore when Kaito replied back, “I thought he was behind you. It wasn’t that long ago when he jumped into the water.”

“But he didn’t pass by when I came back, which is why I’m asking you.”

“Was Shinichi showing off something to you, Kaito?” Yuusaku asked, but with a grim mood.

“He was,” Kaito replied back. “He was transforming into a finny creature.”

“How?” Yuusaku didn’t look any better.

Kaito listened to how grim that tone was and hesitated. “His body was surrounded by seafoam the moment he jumped into the water. Why? Did something happen to Shinichi?”

Both of the mer’s eyes widened. Yuusaku turned around and jumped back into the water as Ran stayed there with a panicked face. “Was it like him dissolving into seafoam?”

“Exactly like that…” Kaito slowed down his speech and witnessed Ran crying. Surprised, he ran towards the shore to Ran. “Ran? What’s wrong? What happened to Shinichi?”

She gasped, realizing what was missing from Shinichi and wailed even more.

“Ran?” Kaito shook her, noticing his voice quivering too. He had a bad feeling about this. “Ran? What happened to Shinichi?”

She smacked Kaito in the chest, but it wasn’t as hard as she usually would but she could care less. “You idiot! That’s not how they transform! That’s how they  _ die _ ! Kuroba,  _ Shinichi Is Dead _ ! Gone! Poofed! No longer here!”

Kaito’s eyes widened in shock. Shinichi died all because  _ he _ prestisted him to go back despite him wanting to stay. Now he’s gone, and this is all his fault. He thought it would be better if he returned back to his friends and family for being worried about him. He imagined being with Shinichi in the future, whether or not he’s in his human form or finny form. But now he can’t do that because Shinichi’s dead.

Ran and smacked Kaito’s chest again and sobbed more, “Idiot! Idiot! Idiot!!! You fucking idiot Ran! He used that fucking charm! You stupid idiot!!!”

Now that she mentioned it, Shinichi always had that charm around that neck. He avoided Shinichi after the party so he wouldn’t notice a simply noticeable charm  _ you dunce! _

It was in the middle of their grief when they heard a throat clearing. Kaito looked around as Ran followed suit towards that direction. It was a beautiful woman that screamed enchanted. Her flowy red hair moved behind her as she walked with her hips swaying side to side. Her white, long-sleeved, collared shirt moved with those hips as her skirt raised up and back down every step she took. She looked at them and grinned. “How about signing a contract and have him reunite with you?”


	3. You See but Do Not Observe

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> aka the good ending

The next day, everyone, except for Chikage, arrived at the charred house. Shinichi’s parents were the first that said their goodbyes to Kaito before entering the water. He didn’t see their transformation because of the water, but he did see two tails splashed the water in a certain distance. Next was Ran. She did the same thing that Shinichi’s parents did except for the tail splashing jig. The princess decided to go next, but instead of going into the water immediately, she took deep breaths in and out before turning to Kaito. She gave him a hug and a peck on the cheek (like the jubilant aunt she was) before using her magic to transform and jump into the water. Lastly, it was Shinichi’s turn. Compared to everyone else, Shinichi was hesitant about going into the water.

It wasn’t much later that Ran arrived back at the shore. And when she did, from her eyes, Shinichi wasn’t even on the high water mark. It was very much like he’s afraid of it.

“Is something going to happen Shinichi?” Kaito, who’s walking towards Shinichi, said as he noticed Ran looking too.

Shinichi turned towards Kaito, surprised to see Ran, but looked down afterwards.

“Is something going to happen once you step into the sea?” Kaito reworded his question.

But that got Ran thinking. Why would Shinichi be afraid of the water?  _ Come on Ran. Think back. _ Shinichi was never afraid of the water. He goes up to the surface everyday, seeing the morning, afternoon, or evening sky.  _ This must be a recent thing. _ Shinichi saved Kaito from a storm. He turned human… _ Hold up… _ When he turned human, he had this charm on him. She stared at Shinichi, looking for that charm. It wasn’t around his neck. She told Shinichi to spin around slowly, and he did. As he spun, she saw nothing that looked like the charm or anything charm-like that pops out. Her eyes widened as her mouth opened agape to this realization. “Shinichi,” she called him out and he twitched by how painful her voice sounded. “Did you use  _ it _ ? The charm?” Kaito looked around Shinichi and noticed that the charm he always had was gone.

For a response, Shinichi didn’t reply back. Heck, he didn’t even look at her eyes. His bangs covered his eyes as he clutched both fists. He faced down towards the sea.

“You did, didn’t you?” Ran asked again, but this time with a tearful expression and a pleading voice.

Shinichi remained silent, but it was enough for her to get an answer.

“I guess this isn’t worse than dying,” Ran laughed a little, sounding broken, making Shinichi winced a bit. 

“Dying,” Kaito repeated, breaking the awkward mood between the two. “Is that what would happen if he went into the sea? After using the charm to turn back into a human, you won’t turn back.”

Shinichi looked at him with a disbelieving look. “How could you-”

“I told you I can piece things together Shinichi,” Kaito pouted. “I saw you with  _ legs _ running down the hall that day when I knew I witnessed your legs turning into a finny tail. How could I not.”

“Riiight.”

“And I know a way to change him back,” A voice behind the three popped up. The three turned around, revealing a red haired girl in a white in a long-sleeved collar shirt and a short skirt. She walked from the grass to the shore with her hips swaying from side to side as her hair flowed with the sea breeze. Shinichi stared at her as that lady glared at him. “You know, it’s rude to stare at a lady for too long,” she grinned as she pulled out a pearl necklace.

“L-Lady Akako,” Shinichi stuttered for a bit, shocking Kaito and Ran. “What are you doing here?”

“I’m doing an old friend a favor,” Lady Akako claimed as she plucked out a pearl from her pearl necklace, a pearl Shinichi recognized. She was walking towards him when Kaito appeared in between them. “Don’t worry Mister Kuroba. I’m not planning to do much with Sir Kudou,” she giggled as the pearl that she plucked out started to glow and hovered over her palm. She continued to walk until she was directly in front of him, face to face. Shinichi was about to say something when Akako shoved something in his mouth. “Swallow,” she demanded as both Ran and Kaito got the urge to punch her. Shinichi did as told and swallowed down whatever entered his mouth (that pearl maybe). He felt nothing, like he was unconsciously gulping. Then, Akako pushed him down into the water. The two who were not involved really want to punch her now.

“What th-” Shinichi stopped halfway because he wasn’t able to get up. He glanced down to his legs, or what were supposed to be his legs. Instead of his legs was a tail, his tail. He touched his face, feeling the scales that were there. Kaito and Ran were ready to go all out when he called them out, “Guys, I’m alive!” The two turned around to see him flapping his tail, splashing water. Instantly, Kaito turned his head away as Ran, who was dragging herself onto the shore, dragged herself back towards Shinichi and hugged him.

“This is a congratulation gift from that old friend of mine. It’s the best I can do to owe her,” Akako smiled, and it wasn’t creepy.

Shinichi was in the middle of hugging Ran when he looked up to Akako after processing her words. “Why? Who is this old friend of yours?”

“I owe her my life. That’s the best that I can do. And she wants you to be happy,” she said as she walked towards Kaito. “She also wants to see if you’re worthy enough for Sir Kudou,” she pushed her index finger to Kaito’s chest, “And the two of you can’t meet if you’re like this. Sign a contract and you’ll have the same conditions as Sir Kudou.” A piece of glowing paper appeared.

Kaito read the contract but didn’t sign it. “What were the conditions you’re planning to put on us?”

“You both will be human if you’re dried up. You only turn into a merman if you enter any unpurified water. Similar to his original contract but different,” Akako shrugged as Kaito filled out the glowing form. After filling it out, the contract shined, transforming into a true blue pearl. She examined that pearl in astonishment. “A rare beauty indeed, but then again, rare situation,” She commented as the pearls started to glow. “I’m sure you know what happens after.” Kaito nodded and opened his mouth. Akako shoved the glowing pearl into his mouth and he swallowed in response. Kaito closed his eyes shut, expecting her to push him into the water but she didn’t. He opened one of his eyes to see Akako vanish.

He turned around, facing towards Ran and Shinichi. “I guess this is goodbye for now,” he let out a small chuckle as he paced both hands behind his back. 

“For now, I guess…” Shinichi looked down, not knowing what to do.

Ran looked between the two and groaned out loud. “For god’s sakes! It’s not like you two aren’t going to meet each other again,” she yelled and turned to Shinichi. “You’re not breaking the law if your hubby visits you. You two can meet each other tomorrow. And it’s not like you’re planning to die or anything,” and Shinichi’s face fell into a deep red as she turned to Kaito. “And you already have the ability to be both a human and a person of the sea, in which nobody has besides royalti and Shinichi’s parents. Like what I told your buba, you can alway visit. If the king decides to change the law about going on land, the two of you could meet each other freely on land. Now, if you excuse me, I better get back” She patted Shinichi’s back, saying that she’ll go ahead, and dived into the depths of the water.

Shinichi watched Ran go back into the sea and laughed. “See you tomorrow?” He asked.

“Sure, but you’re leading the way,” Kaito smiled back as he waved.

He nodded back at Kaito before he went into the sea.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading this. I spent most of my summer working and planning this out, so I hope you enjoy these two endings to the main story line. Have a nice day!

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading this. Since this is my first kaishin/shinkai posted here, I hope this is worth your time reading this as I still try to figure out how to use this format.
> 
> Also:  
> \- I drew Ran's dress because I want to: https://www.deviantart.com/shiney-sheep/art/1595284171847-852777170  
> \- I was debating if the people of the sea should be mermen/mermaids or be like characters from Wadanohara all because of the fact that I want underwater buildings to have stairs.


End file.
